Grace Notes 2024-10-02

The desire to share the Christian Faith with others, where does this come from? Can it come from any other source than the awareness of God’s mercy and compassion for one’s own life?

Are we in touch with our desperate need for God’s grace? I am fond of the expression in Scripture “fear of God.” We don’t always talk about fear, and what if any role it has in our life. But when it comes to fear of God, I think it means at least two things. First, it is a sober fear of God’s judgment. He is a holy God! And as sinful beings we are toast in the presence of God. And second, I think it is marveling, being in awe, and being most thankful that God wants to reclaim us and spare us from the consequences of our sin. Christ has paid a price to effect our forgiveness and cleansing from sin.

If surveys are to be believed, not many people today believe in hell. More people believe there is a heaven than they do a place of torment. And again, according to polling, most people are convinced they will be in heaven. After all, God loves us.

Such optimism has not always been the case. Nor is it consistent with the Biblical narrative. It doesn’t make sense of the lengths involved for God to rescue humans from the self-inflicted wounds we have brought upon ourselves and the rest of God’s creation. Those lengths involved God’s giving of His only begotten Son, who suffered and died to atone for our sins.

The Biblical witness to God’s love is undeniable. But in our hazy age, we think of love only as making someone feel better. Instead, God’s love is acting for our best interest. Being harsh can be for our best, especially if it turns us from destruction! I believe with the fear (proper reverence) of God would also come a greater desire to share the faith with others.

Since You Asked…

Why do we stand during the reading of the Gospel Lesson?

By standing we are giving expression of special respect and adoration. In the Gospel Accounts we meet our Lord Jesus Christ in a special way. In these writings we are presented with Jesus’ Judean and Galilean ministry. We also have a record of the very words of our Lord (his teachings, parables, dialog, etc.). We hear the accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the work of our salvation.

Although the entire Bible is the Word of God, it is in the Gospels that our Lord is most directly presented to us. So you might say that Christ himself is being presented before us in the Gospel Lesson. It is therefore most appropriate that we stand at attention.